PDP ‘s elusive search for peace

Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the failure of the previous reconciliation committees set up by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and why the Governor Seriake Dickson Committee may not make the difference.

From its inception, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been grappling with crises. The crises are largely due to its size, lack of internal democracy and poor management by the party’s leadership. The party has lost some of its foundation members because of the intractable crisis, often fuelled by the selfish ambition of the party leaders, who consider themselves as tin gods whose decisions must not be challenged.

The leaders set up reconciliation committees to save the party from total disintegration. The party had in last 14 years set up various panels to resolve crises among members. Rather than achieve genuine reconciliation and cohesion, the crises have often escalated.

The panels have failed to achieve enduring peace in the party.

Failed reconciliation attempts

On assumption of office in 2007, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua constituted an 11-member National Reconciliation Committee headed by the Second Republic Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, to bring back the aggrieved members, who dumped the party over the imposition of party’s presidential candidate for the general elections.

The panel was made up of the neutral and respected elders. The aggrieved members had no cause to doubt their integrity. The members of the panel include Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Professor Jerry Gana, Ambassador Aminu Wali, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, Dr Bello Mohammed, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, Chief Bode George, Lady Ime Udom and Dr Stephen Oru, who served as secretary.

The panel reached out to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who left the party on the ground that the emergence of Yar ‘Adua as the presidential candidate was an imposition by the party leadership. Chief Audu Ogbe and Chief Solomon Lar, who were former national chairmen and the late Chief Stephen Awoniyi. The panel which submitted its report to the Dr Ahmadu Ali-led PDP National Working Committee recommended that the 2006 membership revalidation should be revisited, if genuine reconciliation was to be achieved.

However, the Prince Vincent Ogbulafor-led executive set up an 18-man committee in 2008 to review the report of the Ekwueme Committee, in line with its resolve to reorganise and enhance internal democracy in the party.

The party said the decision to set up the committee was in line with the philosophy and policy thrust of the new executive committee, and in fulfilment of the promise by the National Chairman, Prince Ogbulafor, to move the party forward.

The committee headed by the former National Deputy Chairman, Dr Bello Muhammed, was mandated to study the report critically, work out the aspects of the report that can be immediately implemented and the modalities for the implementation, and recommend a feasible implementation time frame. The partial implementation of the review panel report led to the return of Atiku and few others. But Ogbeh and Akume refused to return to the party.

The PDP chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on assumption of office in March 2012, also promised to bring back the aggrieved members. To actualise his mission, he inaugurated an eight-member committee headed by Chief Graham Douglas to reconcile, the feuding members in Kano State. The committee was asked to identify the causes of the crises, with a view to resolving them and bringing the warring factions together. In spite of the committee’s effort the PDP is still a divided party in Kano state.

Similarly, Tukur appointed a committee-led by the former PDP National Vice Chairman, South-West Zone, Alhaji Oyedokun, to settle the rift among the members in Benue state. The Oyedokun Committee has submitted its report, but the crisis in Benue still persists.

Tukur embarked on a reconciliation tour early this year to appease the governors who shunned the zonal reconciliation meetings.

The failure of the zonal reconciliation tours by Tukur led to another tour of the by the chairman Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih. The tour took him to Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Rivers, Kogi states. Anenih’s tour failed tos restore peace.

Other peace panels were the Sule Lamido Committee set up to reconcile Governor Murtala Nyako group and Tukur faction in Adamawa State and the Ishola Filani panel to reconcile the aggrieved members in the Southwest. Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State panel was set up by the PDP Governors Forum, after the sudden exit of the loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the National Executive Committee (NEC). In April, the Southwest Zonal Caretaker Committee also inaugurated a six-member committee for each state in the zone, with the mandate to investigate the cause of the internal wrangling.

In spite of all these panels, the party is yet to know peace. Internal squabbles fuelled by personal ambition towards 2015 and the insincerity of the party leadership appear to be compounding problem of the party.

Dickson neutrality of committee

The PDP has constituted a 30-member committee saddled with the onerous task of harmonising all the interests and achieving genuine reconciliation. The appointment of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State had drawn the flaks from some party big wigs, including the governors. Analysts say the reconciliation seems doomed from the start was because it would be impossible for Dickson to discharge his responsibilities without bias. He is a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan whose second term ambition is believed to be fuelling the crises in the PDP. Beside, Dickson, like Jonathan, is from Bayelsa.

The President of Civil Rights Commission, Shehu Sani, said the appointment of Dickson showed that the panel cannot be neutral.

Sani told The Nation that Dickson is not neutral in PDP crises. The fact that he has taken sides will make it impossible for the estranged governors to embrace his overtures.

He said: “Reconciliation demands an impartial, and neutral arbiter that would provide confidence and truce to the two contending sides. That will make it possible for both sides to sit down on the table and address their differences. The reconciliation will not work, until the morality issue of the arbiter is addressed. Dickson is a wrong person to be a member of that committee, let alone being the chairman”.

Former Special Assistant to ex-Governor Timpriye Sylva, and Mr Tonye Okio, said Dickson is an interested party, a hatchet man of the President, who cannot lead a serious effort to calm the frayed nerves in PDP.

Okio said: “The reconciliation committee headed by Seriake Dickson will lead the party nowhere. It will rather nail the corpse of the PDP. His appointment as chairman of the committee is the worst decision taken by the party leadership.

“Dickson is one of the problems of PDP. He was imposed by Jonathan. How can he operate with free mind? The committee headed by Dickson has a script to act out. If truly the PDP wants to make peace, it should try as much as possible to isolate interested parties. Seriake Dickson is one of the hatchet men of the President”.

Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN) noted that the appointment of Dickson is a party matter but the question is what kind of reconciliation does the party want to make: true reconciliation or paper reconciliation?

Ngige said that the party is interested in paper reconciliation. If not what qualifies Dickson to head the reconciliation panel? He has personal issues with Sylva and Amaehi. Do you expect these people to appear before the panel being presided over by Dickson?” he asked.

Dickson is a principal element in the presidential offensive against Amaechi, whose relationship with Jonathan is raptured.

President of Arewa Youth Forum, Shettima Yerima, Dickson was purposely planted in the committee to protect Jonathan’s interest. “I don’t see how the committee will find the President guilty of fuelling the crisis or ask Jonathan to forget his second term ambition in the interest of the party and the nation at large if it becomes necessary to make suh recommendation,” he said.

Hypocritical commitment

Yerima asked the PDP leadership to stop creating the impression that it was committed to peace.

Social critic Prof. Tam David-West said that nothing will come out of Dickson Committee. Given its composition, the panel has lost public confidence, he said.

“It is unbelievable that the party that pride itself as the largest in Africa can’t find any other person to head a committee that is crucial to the party’s existence other than Dickson seen by many as Jonathan errand boy”, David-West added.

A PDP governorship aspirant in Adamawa State at the last general elections, Umaru Ardo, also disapproved of Dickson’s headship of the reconciliation.

Ardo said Dickson is unqualified to handle the assignment. According to him, Dickson lacks the national exposure and experience that such a task requires.

He said that Dickson is a subject of conflict in the party. He recalled the how he was brought in as the governor and controversy it generated. These have reduced his moral standing to undertake a reconciliatory mission, Ardo said.